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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25856596">Through the Slowest Heaving Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shihadchick/pseuds/shihadchick'>shihadchick</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Men's Hockey RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, taking it slow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:35:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25856596</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shihadchick/pseuds/shihadchick</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Not much Seth hates more than seeing his team lose, and having to watch it from the press box is the worst way to do that.</p><p>Having it be the latest loss in a string of them is just salt in the wound. And every time he looks at Zach, he looks more exhausted. Time for Seth to do something about that, if he can.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Seth Jones/Zach Werenski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Through the Slowest Heaving Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Started writing this in February in the midst of that losing streak; set entirely then, and hoping it'll be a bit of a salve for today, too. Your ice time leaders of the NHL Playoffs thus far, folks! (And now kiss.)</p><p>Many thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildcopy/">wildcopy</a> for betaing and encouraging &lt;3333</p><p>Title, once again, from Peter Gabriel.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>They didn’t talk much at all, leaving Nationwide.</p><p>Zach was moving slow—whether that was out of consideration for the fact that Seth’s usual stride was suffering even with the walking boot they’d finally let him have, or out of his own sheer exhaustion was even odds—and the way he slumped into the seat as he climbed into the car made Seth’s back hurt in sympathy too.</p><p>“Your place?” Zach said after a moment, and Seth hadn’t been sure—hadn’t wanted to ask, in case Zach just wanted to go home after another game where every bounce had gone the exact wrong way for them.</p><p>“Yeah,” Seth said without hesitation, and he climbed into the passenger seat, let Zach get them there in silence, right up until they’d shed their coats at the door and their clothes inside Seth’s bedroom. </p><p>He let Zach have the bathroom first—his toothbrush had taken up residence there about a week after Seth had gotten hurt, a subtle statement on how Seth was apparently not going to be allowed to hide away moping in his apartment without supervision. And then more of his clothes had followed, until he had a couple game-day suits hanging beside Seth’s, getting more formal the faster the Jackets’ losses mounted up. </p><p>It’d taken a few of them for Seth to realize that maybe Zach wasn’t just staying over for his benefit.</p><p>Seth had gone to brush his teeth after that, not making eye contact with his own reflection, not sure he was ready to face any of that, or to think too much about the way that Zach was starting to look so worn down, the circles under his eyes darkening by the day. They both needed to rest, to recover, and there just wasn’t enough time for any of that, not in the thick of the season.</p><p>Not with the standings getting tighter by the day.</p><p>Seth huffed out a breath of frustration, and scrubbed at his face before going back to join Zach, sliding under the covers beside him and waiting for a cue on what he needed. If there was anything he could even do.</p><p>"I don't fucking—how does this keep happening," Zach burst out, like even he couldn’t manage to choke the words back one more time.</p><p>And it said something that Seth wasn't sure anymore how many losses it even was, and didn't that just make it even worse? It wasn't like Seth had any answers for him that Zach couldn't come up with himself, that he'd probably had to parrot back to the beat writers and the rest of the media, standing up in Seth's stead to front up for their shortcomings.</p><p>"I don't know," Seth said back eventually, his voice small in the quiet room.</p><p>It felt like a bigger problem than just him—and it wasn't just him, of course, that was the whole problem, but until he'd gone down they'd somehow been pulling it off. They'd kept all the plates spinning, just barely and by the skin of their teeth, but they'd been doing it.</p><p>And then—</p><p>Well.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Seth said, feeling wretched about it all. "I should've—I don't know, I should be out there."</p><p>"Seth," Zach said fiercely, and his hands were urgent on Seth's skin, like he was trying to project every ounce of certainty he had right back to Seth. "You don't have to fix this, it's not your fault. It really isn't, you know? We're just… down to the bone, now."</p><p>"I hate this," Seth groaned, and Zach laughed, a little wetly, a little more manic than Seth liked to hear from anyone, least of all Zach, and said, "Me too."</p><p>"Fuck, we need to sleep," Seth had said, a few minutes later. Lying there stewing over the results, over the standings, over luck that couldn't decide whether it was good, bad, or indifferent—none of that was going to help them, then or later.</p><p>"I know," Zach said, "I can't—I can't get my mind to stop, yet. Sorry, I can, um. I can go back to my apartment?"</p><p>"It's after midnight," Seth protested. He didn't want Zach getting in a Lyft then, tired and upset and worn down. He didn't want Zach to leave.</p><p>"I can move to the couch, you don't need me keeping you up."</p><p>"Zach," Seth said pointedly.</p><p>Zach kept going, like he hadn't even heard him. "I mean, you need to rest and heal, you gotta sleep."</p><p>"Oh, and you haven't got any rest and healing yourself to do as well?" Seth asked rhetorically, and very pointedly, and Zach pulled a face at him, the one that said he wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or whine about it. </p><p>"Come here," Seth said, after a moment. "You know what always makes my brain shut up?"</p><p>"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it's not reading a book," Zach joked, and Seth had no guilt about elbowing him in the ribs. Seth read… sometimes, okay. He was a busy guy. </p><p>"Zach," he said pointedly, "Let me help."</p><p>"I—sure," Zach said, and he sounded so defeated that Seth almost gave up on his first plan to just curl around him and hope that the force of his disapproval scared the rest of the league into spotting them some points and Torts into trying someone else on the point for the powerplay, for fuckssake. </p><p>They made jokes about Zach being a robot, but he couldn't run down to empty. That would be even worse than where they were already. </p><p>"Okay," Seth said, rolling onto his side and wondering how he was going to play this. At least his ankle would probably be fine for these activities. "You just lie there, and let me—"</p><p>"Wait, is this sex?" Zach asked, and Seth had to laugh at how suspicious and disgruntled he sounded. </p><p>"Kind of, if you want it to be," he said, and let Zach marinate in that for a minute. </p><p>"I don't think that'll help," Zach said, "Or I'd just jerk off right here, it's not like you'd complain."</p><p>Seth definitely wouldn't, but he also trusted Zach to know what wasn't gonna work for him right then.</p><p>"Just have a little faith," Seth said. "Lie on your stomach."</p><p>Zach grumbled some more, but he did it; Seth could see as he shifted that he was half-hard anyway, a conditioned response to being warm and horizontal and in Seth's bed. </p><p>It used to be that one or both of them got off, in that situation. Seth wasn't sure if it was going to end up going that way, but he could feel the tiredness building up behind his eyes and Zach had to feel that ten times over, so if he could do something to make Zach relax it'd make him feel better too, no matter what. </p><p>Seth considered putting the lamp back on to get just a little more light, but his curtains were half open—he hadn't bothered adjusting them in days—and there was enough moonlight drifting into the room that he could see colors, faintly. Could see the smooth pale expanse of Zach's back, the knobs of his spine pushing against thin skin, the way his shoulder blades expanded and hollowed as he breathed in and out, slow and measured. The faint white lines of surgical scars over his shoulder, from where Zach had already been hurt and had to put himself together again. Seth traced over them lightly with his fingertip, remembering how Zach had fought tooth and nail to stop any of that from holding him back.</p><p>Even with just that light touch, Zach was already falling into the right kind of breathing pattern, so Seth didn't say anything else to distract him, just reached up to place his palm flat over the nape of Zach's neck, feeling the blood rush past under his fingertips, the brush of Zach's hair rough against the side of his thumb.  He squeezed lightly, possessively, and felt the shiver run through Zach, the quick tension and even faster relaxation. </p><p>"Close your eyes," Seth said softly, and Zach was apparently still feeling a little snarky, enough that he grumbled through the pillow, "cos I'm looking at stuff now?"</p><p>"Shhh," Seth said mildly, squeezing the back of Zach's neck a little tighter. Zach shivered and sank deeper into the mattress, relaxing a fraction more. </p><p>Seth was definitely on the right track with this.</p><p>"I'm gonna touch you some more," he went on. "If you make noise that's okay. And if it’s doing it for you, just don't come until I say."</p><p>"How is edging me going to make me relax?" Zach complained and Seth couldn't help the grin—at least Zach couldn't see it—and gave him a quick swat on the ass in an attempt to prove he still had some control of the situation. </p><p>"Did I say that was happening?"</p><p>Zach shifted, as if he was about to roll over and look up, so Seth leaned in, let his weight push at the very top of Zach's shoulder, reminding him to stay put.</p><p>"I'm just saying," Zach said, "Usually when you say that, it's, you know. That's what you're doing." </p><p>Seth wasn't sure he'd put it in those words, to Zach or to himself, but he couldn't deny Zach had something of a point.</p><p>"Not right now," was all he said, and then he let his palm smooth down Zach's skin, shoulder to waist, and back up again, just the slow sweep of skin on skin.  </p><p>Zach was warmer than Seth would have expected. His feet were cold but the rest of him had retained the warmth of the locker room, the car, the house, the humming adrenaline still slowly fading out of his system after the game. His skin was soft and dry, and Seth couldn't resist the urge to lean in again—pressed his nose into the curve of Zach's neck and licked behind his ear, making him squirm and mutter and curse, ticklish as ever.</p><p>He'd washed his hair at the arena, dried it roughly, and Seth hummed as he found a few damp strands curling above his ears, where his hat would've covered them until he'd come in. </p><p>Zach squirmed some more, but it felt more like everyday impatience by then, like he wanted Seth to touch him more than he was, not like he was about to jump out of his skin if Seth even laid a finger on him without warning.</p><p>"That's better," Seth murmured, right into his ear, and he ran his hand down the length of Zach's spine again, letting his fingers bump one by one over each of his vertebrae, sweeping up and out to let his palm anchor on Zach's side, resting lightly just above his waist. </p><p>His skin broke out in goosebumps, even in the warm room, and Seth could see it and feel it, fine hair standing on end all up and down his arms. Seth took that hint, ran his nails lightly up Zach's back, arcing over his shoulder and then down his arm, tracing the curve of his biceps, the vulnerable skin on the inside of his elbow, the tender skin of his forearm and inner wrist. He ran one finger all the way down, till he could feel the smoothness of Zach's thumbnail, and then he worked his way back up, and then down again on the other side, over his index finger that time.</p><p>He could see just enough of Zach in the dim light to keep up a slow rhythm, back and forth, gentle and light, and Zach shivered every time, his hips jerking when Seth let his thumb press over the bone of his wrist, feeling his pulse thudding there, steady and wanting. </p><p>Seth shuffled closer on the mattress, let himself lean against Zach's side—he was so warm and steady and god, Seth missed him, missed this, missed everything—and shifted so that his palm was smoothing up and down Zach's back again, drifting an inch or so lower every time, until he let his hand go down to curve around the swell of Zach's ass, firm and familiar and so good. </p><p>He could feel Zach hold his breath, anticipating Seth's next move, and Seth didn't need to be in Zach's head to feel him start categorizing the attention as foreplay and nothing more. </p><p>And all the tension Seth had been hoping to dispel came flooding right back into his body, the whole weight of the world on his shoulders again. </p><p>Seth spent a lot of time worrying about Zach's shoulders. </p><p>"Zach," he said, keeping his voice steady, a little louder than he'd be when they were in bed normally. "Breathe."</p><p>Zach exhaled, a little shakily, and eased back into a slower rhythm, but he was twitchy again, fizzing underneath his skin, just waiting for Seth to touch him. Seth was going to, that wasn't in doubt, but he wanted to do this first, and he didn't think he was flattering himself to think that Zach needed it almost as much as he did.</p><p>He was doing a decent job of keeping his own cool, Seth thought. </p><p>It was fine as long as he didn't let himself think too far ahead, didn't anticipate anything more than this slow, steady pattern. He tried to slow his own thoughts down to match, thinking about ordinary things, boring things, anything that wasn't Zach, snugged up warm beside him. </p><p>He should probably make a grocery order tomorrow, Seth thought, thumb tracing the shell of Zach’s ear, rubbing over where his hair was buzzed short and felt like velvet.</p><p>And he needed to call his framer and ask about getting someone to help hang some pictures, next time he had a chance. He definitely wasn't going to be getting on a step ladder any time soon, Seth thought, his palm curving over Zach's glutes. </p><p>He was pretty sure the docs were going to let him out of the walking boot soon, and then maybe they'd let him pick up yoga with the guys again as well. Seth had missed that routine, along with everything else. </p><p>He lifted his hand again and skimmed back up Zach's sides, over his hip, the dip of his waist, his ribs, pushing into the tender skin under his arms for just a second to make him yelp and laugh, flinching away instinctively but rolling back just as quick, like he needed to be closer to Seth the same way Seth did to him. </p><p>"Dick," Zach said into the pillow, and it couldn't muffle the fondness in his tone.</p><p>"Stop trying to guess what I'm doing, then," Seth said, quite calmly, and Zach sighed, but he also relaxed a little more.</p><p>"Better," Seth said, and rewarded him with a painfully slow sweep of his hand from the nape of Zach's neck right down to his thighs, blunt nails dragging across skin on his way back up. </p><p>He enjoyed watching Zach's skin go pink under the attention, at the praise, at the pressure, and let himself spend some more time drawing basic shapes all over Zach. Traced out tight spirals and distorted cubes that turned into stick figures; an elementary school line-art sun and moon and stars; a house with two windows, a door, and a chimney, smoke curling out of it and up over Zach’s ribs. </p><p>He indulged himself long enough to trace his signature over Zach's ass with the edge of his thumbnail, and Zach laughed again, but he wasn't playfully indignant the way he'd normally be at things like that, wasn't trying to chirp Seth back; he was going boneless and soft and breathless under Seth's hands, shifting to try and echo the way Seth was molding him, but no longer anticipating, just reacting and luxuriating in it.</p><p>Seth grinned to himself, shitty day entirely forgotten, and trailed his fingertips back up along Zach's spine, feeling him shudder in response, his back arching like a cat's. </p><p>Seth cupped the back of his head in his palm and gave in to the temptation to let his nails scratch over Zach's scalp, tugging just a little as he wound strands of hair around his fingers, and Zach let his head come up just a little, following Seth's direction, eyes closed and expression blissful.</p><p>"That's it, Z," Seth said softly, and felt his words shiver through Zach as well, satisfying as hell, and he let the soft strands of hair whisper through his fingers as he let go and moved to rub at the nape of Zach's neck again, as he let his head fall back onto the pillow.</p><p>Zach moaned, then, as Seth's fingers dug in to his sore spots, to find knots of muscle and work the tension out of them, working his way along first one shoulder and then the other, and by the time Seth laid his palm flat over the small of Zach's back he had practically melted into the mattress, making small soft satiated noises.</p><p>It was for Zach and about Zach, and Seth was mostly focused on that, but there was also part of him that was hardwired to respond to Zach moaning like that, that recognized just how often those noises meant good things for him, too. And if he'd tried to say he wasn't getting off on it a little, then he'd be a liar.</p><p>Feeling the way Zach responded to him any time they touched was a turn-on; feeling Zach willfully surrender this much of his control to Seth when he asked for it was borderline intoxicating. And Zach would've had to have been a lot further gone to not be able to feel Seth hard against him.</p><p>When he spoke again, it sounded like it was coming from underwater, or ten feet underground; slow and blissfully detached, raw and somehow rounded all at the same time.</p><p>"I can take care of that for you, you know," Zach said, flexing his wrist, moving just enough to drag the tip of his index finger over the swell of Seth's dick, hard against his hip. Seth had been working hard not to rub off against him, not to let Zach's focus split into thinking it was just sex, just a way of getting them both off, but apparently he'd only been partially successful.</p><p>"It's not about that," Seth said, trying to redraw a line that felt thinner by the moment. </p><p>He meant that, he needed to mean that, he <em>wanted</em> to mean that. </p><p>He wanted to be what Zach needed. </p><p>"Doesn't mean it can't be about that too," Zach said pragmatically. "I don't think I'm the only one who needs to get out of his own head for a few minutes here."</p><p>Seth swallowed hard, his hands stilling on Zach's skin. </p><p>Zach sounded more relaxed than Seth had heard him in weeks, but he also sounded as stubborn as Seth had ever heard him, staunchly standing his ground while his words washed away the last few inches of steady footing that Seth had been telling himself were all he needed as a foundation. </p><p>"Uh," Seth said, floundering and furious with himself for it. </p><p>Zach didn't need this, he was supposed to be—Seth was supposed to take care of <em>him</em>. That was what he'd told Torts, what he'd told Jarmo, and—in a very different but definitely related sense—what he'd told himself, ever since he'd figured that this was okay, that they could have this too. </p><p>"Don't make me pull out the full name card," Zach said, sounding less sleepy, and this time Seth was the one that shivered. </p><p>Zach had dropped that one on him a couple of times, and it was somewhere between embarrassing and infuriatingly effective, especially because usually the only person who'd do that was his <em>mom</em> and there was absolutely nothing worse than thinking about his mom when he had Zach right there, all naked and wild under him.</p><p>"Gah," Seth said, more emphatically, and he leaned in, put his weight into the pressure of his palm on Zach, trying to remind them both what they were doing there.</p><p>It would have worked a hell of a lot better if his palm hadn't skidded—he wasn't sure if it was him sweating or Zach or both of them—and landed back on Zach's ass, fingers flexing belatedly and digging into the muscle there on instinct.</p><p>"Yeaaaah," Zach drawled, rolling onto his side sneaky fast and plastering himself right up against Seth, who would have put actual cash on Zach being too blissed out to move at even a fraction of his normal speed right then. "Please fuck me now."</p><p>He squirmed illustratively, his dick rubbing right up against Seth's, skin on skin hot and slippery and all too inviting.</p><p>"Z, I—my fucking ankle," Seth said helplessly—hopelessly—because apparently he was hitting Zach's level faster than he could maintain his own equilibrium. "I would fucking love to, but I don't think I can."</p><p>"Wow, way to quit on the play," Zach said, and <em>smirked</em>, and while Seth was distracted by how embarrassingly turned on that made him all on its own, he shoved—carefully—at Seth's shoulder, used his own weight to counterbalance them as he helped Seth move slowly but surely until he was flat on his back, looking up at Zach. </p><p>"This—was not what I was planning," Seth said slowly, chewing on his bottom lip. Zach looked bigger than usual above him in the dim light— warm, sepia-toned, and focused entirely on him.</p><p>"Is that a no?" Zach asked, and it was his turn to run a hand casually over Seth's skin; trailing from the center of his chest down over his navel, his wrist twisting until Zach was touching him with the tip of his index finger alone, running that feather-light touch down between his legs, along the length of his dick.</p><p>Seth couldn't swallow the groan that evoked, tried to push up into Zach's touch, and he couldn't in any way deny that he wanted it, wanted more of that. </p><p>"Please," Seth said, swallowing hard.</p><p>They'd done this enough that Zach didn't need to ask where to find anything; he leaned over Seth—their chests pressed together as Zach dropped a kiss on the corner of his mouth in passing—and grabbed what he needed from the dresser. </p><p>He had to dig a little more than the last time; Seth's usual neatness had been messed up by the sheer volume of extra things he needed close to hand by then, when it was harder than usual to get up for them, but it only took a moment before Zach was back, kneeling beside him, his hand slick as he stroked Seth matter-of-factly, slippery and hot when Zach swung a leg over him and settled on top, twisting to reach back and guide Seth inside him.</p><p>Seth almost bit through his lip at the feeling; Zach was tight and so hot around him, yielding easily enough for all of that, and Seth couldn't pretend like he wasn't close to coming undone over it. </p><p>Zach gave him a second to catch his breath—probably did the same for himself—and then started to move, fucking himself on Seth, and Seth's eyes practically rolled back in his head.</p><p>He had just enough sense of self-preservation not to let himself move, no matter how much he wanted to, but the constant awareness of his ankle was fading to almost nothing, swept away on a tide of good feelings. Guess he was getting better, after all. It was easier to get caught up in the moment than it'd been even the last time they'd done this, almost back to normal, and Seth wanted that so much he could feel tears prick at the corners of his eyes. </p><p>He let his hands slide down Zach's sides to settle around his hips, thumbs rubbing into the crease at the top of his thighs, picking up the rhythm Zach had set.</p><p>Seth was breathing faster, chest heaving, Zach's weight bearing down on him, and it was so good, felt so right and satisfying. </p><p>"Seth, I can't—" Zach started to say, his eyes huge, tension clear in his face, and Seth knew that desperation, felt it and recognized it down to his bones. "I'm going to, are you close?"</p><p>"Yeah," Seth admitted, and then realized he could be pulling his own weight at least a little there, letting his hand slip down to curl around Zach's dick, stroking tight, more than wet enough with how they were both sweating hard and how Zach's dick was leaking steadily, smearing wet across his abs and thighs, across Seth's chest. "C'mon, just—like that, fuck," and Seth's eyes closed without his conscious permission as the orgasm rolled through him, hips jerking up as he came. </p><p>He could feel Zach's body tighten around him as well, and Zach groaned, low and shuddering, and slumped heavily on top of Seth, face tucked into the crook of his neck as he panted. </p><p>It wasn't precisely comfortable—for either of them probably, Seth had to admit—but he wasn't going to make Zach move before he was ready, not when he was still feeling shaky and off-balance himself.</p><p>He wasn't sure how much more time passed before Zach sat up again and then moved, very carefully, although Seth wasn't sure whether it was Zach or himself who made the more embarrassing noise then, rolling off him and immediately plastering himself right back against Seth's side.</p><p>Seth scratched idly at his belly, made a face involuntarily and then shamelessly just wiped his hand off on the side of the sheet furthest away from them. So Zach was probably gonna have to do some more laundry for him tomorrow before he headed out on the road, that was… fine. It was a problem for the future, and right then all Seth felt was good; worn out and satisfied and humming with it, unable to wipe the grin off his face. God, it'd been too long since they'd done that.</p><p>"Hey, that was—okay, right?" Zach asked, and Seth's good mood turned to smoke, prickling along his nerves. </p><p>Hadn't it been good for Zach too? Seth had thought he was having a good time, but he had been kind of wrapped up in himself, so…maybe not as much? </p><p>Fuck. </p><p>"It was great," Seth said, sticking with honesty. It had been. And if it hadn't been good for Zach, well, there was space for him to say so, and Seth was pretty sure he'd say something if he needed to. That was how they worked, wasn't it? They talked to each other, and things got done when they needed to be. On and off the ice, they just…worked. </p><p>"Yeah, good," Zach said, and Seth relaxed again; he wasn’t suddenly misreading his partner’s cues. </p><p>Zach still had his face pressed against the side of Seth's shoulder, his breath hot against his biceps. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to move, and Seth didn’t mind it. Admittedly, Seth also wasn't sure how good that could feel for Zach, but he seemed to make himself comfortable in the most contorted positions sometimes, and Seth had mostly stopped questioning it. </p><p>"Ankle okay?" Zach slid an arm over Seth's side, palm spread out over his belly, nails catching on the thin trail of hair leading down, and Seth shivered reflexively. </p><p>Zach touching him always felt good. </p><p>"Didn't feel a thing," Seth said honestly, and Zach grinned—Seth could feel it—and said, "Good. Let's get some sleep," and he squirmed around just enough to grab the covers and pull them back up over both of them, tucking himself into Seth's side like an aggressively touchy body pillow.</p><p>Seth still felt like maybe he'd missed something there—that there was something else he was meant to do or say—but his body was exhausted and feeling good, and sleep rose up to claim him before he could figure out what the other thing he was meant to be thinking about even was.</p>
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